The Austrian government on Tuesday signed Croatia's EU Accession Treaty and thus paved the way for its ratification in the Austrian parliament, the Austrian news agency APA reported.
Austrian Chancellor Werner Fayman and Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said during the signing that Austria had advocated Croatia's EU entry from the very beginning.
The Austrian parliament should ratify the accession treaty after Croatia holds a referendum on EU entry. Croatia is scheduled to sign the Accession Treaty on 9 December, during an EU summit in Brussels, APA said, adding that the referendum on the country's EU entry should be held a month after the signing of the treaty.
Croatia's EU admission is planned for 1 July 2013 by which time the Accession Treaty must be ratified in all EU member states, APA said.
